


Dealings with the Devil

by junko



Series: Scatter and Howl [37]
Category: Bleach
Genre: M/M, Original Character(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-20
Updated: 2015-10-20
Packaged: 2018-04-27 07:49:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,947
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5040079
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/junko/pseuds/junko
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Renji _so_ did not expect to wake up, naked, with Byakuya's Aunt Masama looming over him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Dealings with the Devil

When Renji’d checked in with Nanako, their Third Seat, she’d taken one look at him and sent him off to bed. He’d protested, of course, but, the truth was, he was so dead on his feet that he passed out about two seconds after stripping out of his uniform and slipping under the covers…

….which was how it was that he ended up half-naked under the intense scrutiny of Lady Masama Kuchiki.

#

At the hard slam of his door sliding against its frame, Renji bolted upright. One hand grabbed Zabimaru, the other shielded his eyes from the sudden light. Blinking away the sleep, Renji finally registered the silhouette in his doorway. 

His brain struggled to make sense of what he saw. Female. Extremely rich clothing, many layers, gold and… Kuchiki blue.

Kuchiki blue.

Female.

“Uh…. Lady Kuchiki?” Though that merciless gaze could only belong to one person, it still seemed so impossible that Masama Kuchiki was standing in the doorway of his meager quarters that had never quite lost its funky undertone odor of spoiled milk and beer. Letting go of Zabimaru, Renji pulled the blankets close to his chest, trying to cover his nakedness.

Though it really was far too late.

“Lieutenant,” she started out strong, but her tone shifted to a kind of bewildered startled. “Oh. My, you really are… entirely tattooed, aren’t you?” 

Renji flushed with embarrassment. Did all the Kuchiki’s have this reaction to his ink? 

“Pretty much, yeah,” he said gruffly. Shifting, he tried to cover more of himself under the blankets. Pushing his hair away from his face, he asked: “Erm, so…. uh, Lady… what are you doing here? I mean, I’m kind of shocked you didn’t just send for me. Like, with an envoy or something. You came all the way here yourself, into the Division to… what, exactly? What’s so important you couldn’t wait until I got dressed?”

“It’s the middle of the afternoon,” she sniffed, standing stiffly in the open doorway. Cold air prickled Renji’s naked skin. “I rather expected you be… fully clothed.”

“Military works on shifts, ma’am,” Renji pointed out. “I mean, you must have known I was off duty. Someone told you where my quarters were.” 

And when Renji found out who, there would be words. Angry words. Many angry words.

“Ah… well,” Masama said, finally thinking to avert her eyes. “Dress yourself, Lieutenant. You and I need to strategize. Byakuya can not spend another day in that horrible place. Shinobu was no help. I need you to tell me who to pay and how much.”

Renji’s brain had faltered shortly after Masama said ‘you and I.’ He wasn’t sure he’d ever been a conjugation in a sentence with Aunt Masama before, at least not in a positive way. It was weird, because, if Renji didn’t know better, what she’d just said sounded a whole hell of a lot like Masama asking for his help.

“Snap to, soldier,” she huffed. “And, shut your ridiculous gaping mouth. We have work to do.”

“You want me to jump up and get dressed?”

“Yes, I want you dressed,” she said, exasperated. “What are you finding so difficult about this request?”

Renji smiled toothily, “Well, for one, I ain’t got no underwear on.”

Her face paled instantly and her expression contorted. Leaping back as fast as her many layers of silk would allow, she dashed out the door. Fumbling a little, Masama managed to slide the door closed. From the outside, Renji heard a muffled, “I shall wait here. Make it quick.”

“Please,” he muttered, flinging the warm blanket aside. “Would it fucking kill you to say ‘please’ once?”

She must have heard him, despite the fact that he’d kept his voice low, because to Renji’s utter surprise she said, “Please.”

Please? Renji wondered as he pulled on his hakama, if that creepy Captain Kurotsuchi had somehow replaced her with a nicer clone. She hadn’t mentioned the visit by Kurotsuchi yet, but maybe she was saving her ammunition until after he’d helped her figure out Byakuya’s situation. 

Renji was dressed in a minute. Sliding the door open with his toe, he finished tying back his hair. “Okay, I’m all yours.”

Tilting her head to look up at him, she gave him a long, measuring glance. She frowned at his forehead tattoos, which were still visible. He stared her down, daring her to tell him he needed to cover them. It wasn’t so much that he felt like wearing his ink today, but more that he couldn’t find his bandana. He’d misplaced it somewhere and hadn’t felt up to hunting around for a new one. 

She broke eye contact first, shifting her gaze to the practice yard, which was filled with a small group of soldiers going through afternoon drills. 

The sun was bright, but the air was frigid. The breeze smelled of coming snow. Stubborn tendrils of frost clung to the crevices in the slats of the wooden walkway outside Renji’s door. 

“Can we buy off the Head Captain?” Masama asked, starting to walk towards the lieutenant’s office. Renji fell into step behind her, as if he were following Byakuya. The golden threads in Masama’s kimono glittered in the bright sunlight, the patterns shifting as she walked.

“Not likely,” Renji said. “You won’t have much luck tossing money at the Second Division, either. Maybe you could’ve paid off the warden, but I got the sense maybe she don’t work there no more.”

“I see,” Masama sniffed. “There must be something we can offer someone. Everyone has their price, Lieutenant.”

“That might be, ma’am, but the Gotei likes to think of itself as above bribery, especially First and Second Divisions,” Renji said. “I suppose you could try Central. They’re the only ones that outrank the Captain-Commander. They didn’t give any fucks when Byakuya tried to save Rukia, but I guess that was actually Aizen, anyway.” When she glanced back at him sharply, Renji bristled. “Oi, don’t you try to say Rukia ain’t Kuchiki.”

Her lips thinned. Turning her back to him sharply, she said, “It was the language I objected to. Please try to remember you’re in noble company.”

Renji hadn’t even noticed his bad language, which made him more embarrassed. “Right, sorry, my apologies, ma’am.”

“This Central 46, what do you know about them?”

“Eh, not much, honestly,” Renji said. “I mostly try to say off their radar. But, I think they’re your sort. Noble, I mean.”

“Names?”

Renji shook his head, even though she wasn’t looking at him. They were close enough to the lieutenant’s office now that he could smell the break room’s tea. “They’re anonymous. From what rumors I’ve heard, if you’re called in front of them you don’t see faces, they’re shielded, and they’re referred to by number.”

Masama swept into the lieutenant’s office, causing shinigami to press themselves against walls. A bunch of people looked to Renji, as if for direction. He shrugged. It wasn’t like there was room to bow to the floor. Though seeing Richiki, Renji made a ‘come here’ motion with his head. “Fetch Aio, would you? Have her bring over some of the good tea from the estate and whatever Miki thinks the Lady Kuchiki would eat.” Richiki started off, but Renji caught his sleeve. “Oh, and tell everyone to give this place a wide berth for the moment, would you?”

The Lady Kuchiki’s entrance into the main office had the people there startled into silence. Nanako bowed and the other loitering officers gave each other looks and then followed suit.

“The Lady Kuchiki and I are commandeering the lieutenant’s office for a strategy meeting. Take the shift rosters to the break room, would you, Kinjo?” Kinjo bowed again and did as Renji told him. Nanako didn’t seem to know what to do, so Renji came around to introduce her, “Lady Masama Kuchiki, have you met our Third Seat, Nanako Ito?” 

“Ah, yes, the new liaison,” Masama sneered with a derision that Renji didn’t quite understand at first, until he remembered the whole fiasco with the previous Third, Miisho Ōta. Renji’d mostly managed to forget about that guy, what with everything that had happened since, including fighting in Hueco Mundo, but now all that was like a giant elephant in the room, making everything extra awkward.

Nanako bowed again, deeply, “It’s my honor to meet you in person, Lady Kuchiki.”

Masama ignored Nanako, completely blanking her, perfect Kuchiki style. 

Renji shrugged his ‘what are you going to do, she’s like this,’ shrug, but also said, “If you’re talking Kuchiki interests, Nanako should stay. Not only is she our liaison, she’s also spearheading our committee that’s trying to...uh, well, honestly, we’re trying to anticipate any clan fallout once word gets out about the Captain’s imprisonment. You know, in case one of you lot decides to try to seize the estate.”

“Are you including me in that ‘lot’?” Masama asked.

“Of course,” Renji said. “You and I both know the heir is vulnerable since he hasn’t been invested yet. So, I’m saying: don’t move into the big room just yet.”

“I see.” Masama said. “You imagine me as quite the villain, don’t you?” 

“Yeah, I kind of do,” Renji said. He leaned his butt against the edge of the Third Seat’s desk and crossed his arms in front of his chest. 

“If I wanted the estate, I would have it already,” Masama said. “As it happens, I would like my nephew out of prison as soon as possible. What exactly are the charges, anyway? When I asked Shinobu, he got very flustered and mumbled about some... ‘military issues.’ What does that mean?”

Oh, great, she didn’t know. He’d been kind of hoping she’d already heard all the gory details. Renji shifted uncomfortably and struggled to hold her gaze as he said, “Fraternization.”

“Fratern…” her mouth opened and closed, and Renji could almost feel the fury building in her like reiatsu. She took two steps forward and slapped Renji hard across the face. Open palm, it made a hard slapping sound, but he didn’t let it move him. Her palm lay flat against his hard, unmoving cheek. Her hand was cold and bony. The slap stung, but Renji’s skin had taken much harder blows.

“You bastard,” she hissed. Pulling her hand away, clearly a little unnerved she hadn’t even been able to turn his head. “Perhaps it’s you who is the villain. Do they call you Captain now?”

“Acting-Captain, yes, but that wasn’t down to me,” Renji said. He thought about denying that he wanted a captain’s position, but she’d never understand that while he was ambitious enough to be hoping for the job eventually, he didn’t want Byakuya’s. “Look, I tried to take the rap as insubordination. The captain was the one who confessed.”

“You lie,” Masama said cooly. 

“Actually, I have the official report from the Ninth, ma’am,” Nanako said. She pulled a folder from a stack on the lieutenant’s desk and offered it to her. “It’s just like Renji says.”

Masama snatched the report from Nanako. Flipping through, her eyes scanned the papers. She arched an eyebrow at Renji. “You raised a hand to him. You should be in jail. You should hang.”

Renji had heard this kind of smack talk from Masama so many times, he didn’t even flinch. In fact, he considered rolling his eyes or muttering, ‘yeah yeah.’ 

Nanako, however, made a little squeaking, choking sound. “But, Lady Kuchiki! Renji was only defending himself,” Nanako protested, her face going pale. “It’s in the report that the captain struck first.”

“You’re wasting your breath,” Renji said to Nanako. “You’re never going to say anything that’s going to change the lady’s mind about me. There ain’t nothing I can do in regards to her nephew she’s ever going to like, except leave him.”

“Just so,” Masama said, handing back the report with a, “I want a copy of that, all of it.”

Nanako glanced to Renji to make sure that was all right. Technically, Masama had no right to any of it. As a military report, it was classified, off limits to civilians. But Renji nodded, “Let her have it. Go on, get her what she wants right now.”

Nanako looked surprised but bowed and ran off to do as Renji asked.

Even though Masama would probably try to use the report to build some kind of civilian case against Renji, he’d decided he’d feel better with her having the actual, nonpartisan file from the Ninth. If she was determined to press charges, she’d do it, anyway. Without the report, hearsay would be her other option and it’d be far too easy for her to find people to tell her the kinds of things she wanted to hear. 

And then there was siccing Kurotsuchi on her. That could probably be a case all its own… Renji tried not to think about that just yet. At least she seemed to be in one piece. Was it too much to hope that Kurotsuchi and she just exchanged pleasantries?

Masama watched Nanako hurry off and said, “You’re being surprisingly cooperative, Lieutenant.”

“You mean, considering that you’re going to use that to try and see me hang? Yeah, well, if I tried to keep the report a secret, you’d find a way to use that against me, too,” Renji said with a little shrug. “If it’s a crime for me to touch him, well… I’ve done a whole hell of a lot more than push him into a shop window.”

“Please don’t remind me,” Masama said, a brush of color blushing her high, pale cheekbones. 

Renji had been thinking about the time he’d tried to kill Byakuya, but, of course, she’d gone straight to the sex. 

“Anyway, I’m kind of glad you’re here,” Renji said. Standing up, he moved over to his desk and started hunting around for the paperwork he’d gotten from the Second. “I was going to spend part of today trying to figure out how to pay to keep Byakuya in a private cell. He’s been in the general population over my protests, and, well, uh… he’s come around to the idea to being on his own.”

“Has something happened?”

Renji glanced up at her. “When I talked to him this morning, he said something about assassins. You don’t know anything about that, do you?”

“Me?”

She was still standing just inside the office door, and Renji would have offered her a seat, but he wasn’t even sure that she could sit in a Western-style chair without popping one of the seams of her kimono. “Yeah, you, lady. You’ve got plenty of motive. You chose the heir and, if Byakuya were out of the picture, you’d be the eldest living Kuchiki, which would make you the perfect regent. Then, you get the power to control the estate and all the holdings--even if you couldn’t directly own them. I know clan head is something you feel cheated out of. So, yeah, you’re kind of the number one suspect.”

“I didn’t send assassins. I came to you because I want Byakuya out of prison as soon as possible.”

Renji sat down in his chair. Maybe the strong smell of tea from the break room had finally cleared some cobwebs from his brain, because he finally thought to ask: “Yeah, why is that? I mean, I’d have thought you’d be overjoyed by this turn of events. Byakuya’s been a thorn in your side. He’s powerless in prison.”

Masama shivered and wavered on her feet, like she might faint. Renji stood back up, ready to fetch a chair… or catch her. She was very pale as she started to speak. “Yes, exactly,” she said with a shuddering breath, “You can’t possibly understand, but I can not abide another Kuchiki clan head imprisoned, his honor lost, his lands stolen, his name disgraced, all for something so....” she bit her lip. “For no good reason.”

She was breathing shallowly now, and seemed ready to topple. Renji got that chair for her and helped her into it. Surprisingly, she leaned into him, accepting his touch as he lowered her carefully into the seat. There was a pitcher of water that was always kept near where the duty roster usually hung, a corner of the office they jokingly referred to as the ‘water cooler,’ and Renji poured her a bowl from it. 

“My husband,” she whispered, when she took the water with shaking hands. “My beloved Kōga. No one will even speak his name. He’s been struck from the family records. But, he’s not dead… and he was unjustly accused… until his temper…” She stopped, her mouth working, but unable to form words. She glanced up at Renji, “Understand this: my husband is still alive, forever imprisoned. I can’t… “ she stopped again, but this time Renji could easily fill in what she couldn’t say, that she couldn’t bear to have another loved one locked up. With a tight breath, she continued, “It’s too difficult. Even for a short time, for me to bear the idea of it all happening again.”

Renji frowned. He’d always thought Masama was a widow. He’d never heard of a Kōga… Kuchiki....? Since Masama’s name was still Kuchiki, the family must have adopted this Kōga guy so that the name could continue. It was a clever solution to having an eldest daughter. 

Except everything went wrong somehow. Whatever happened to get Kōga imprisoned happened, and then his wife, Masama, gets passed by in shame, and all her properties and power go to her brother, Byakuya’s father. She probably isn’t even allowed any kind of mourning, because she’s no widow…. and like she says, it’s all some kind of scandal. 

It was kind of amazing she’d managed to claw back the power she had now, as family matchmaker and eldest living Kuchiki. Maybe she was able to do that once Ginrei, her father, died.

Huh.

Well, at least some of her craziness now made a little sense… kind of.

“Byakuya isn’t going down forever,” Renji said kindly, crouching down by her chair. “Even if we can’t get him out right away, the sentence is only a matter of weeks.”

“It’s still too long,” she sobbed. “Anything could change, and it always happens so quickly, without warning.... I want him out now.”

“Ma’am, I agree,” Renji nodded. “You ain’t going to get no arguments about that from me.”

A soft rap at the open doorway announced Aio’s arrival. Renji got up and took the tray from her with a thanks. 

“Try and get some tea in you, huh?” he said to Masama, bringing over the tray to set it on the nearest table top, the edge of the Third’s desk. He poured her a steaming bowl and she exchanged her empty water bowl for it. 

Her hands shook. This thing with her husband, it was really affecting her. Well, it must have. She’d come to Renji willing to make some kind of alliance, even though she obviously still wanted him dead, publicly hung. 

Renji crouched down again, and sat back against his heels. “Look, maybe what we ought to focus on is not trying to reduce the sentence but getting him out of the Maggot’s Nest. The assassination attempt and… uh, the events around the prison break ought to be enough to convince the Head Captain that maybe he’s made his point, you know? Byakuya’s done enough hard time. It ain’t like fraternization is a major crime, especially as I never complained. Nor anybody from our division. So, maybe we can get the Head Captain to give a little on, you know, where Byakuya serves out the rest of the time.”

Masama glanced up at him. Her eyes were an unnerving shade of gray-blue, so much like Byakuya’s. “It should have been house arrest from the start. Byakuya is a nobleman.”

Renji nodded. “Yes, ma’am, that’s how I had it figured, too. But, the head captain can be stubborn, and he likes to imagine us all as soldiers first and foremost.”

“Well, that’s ridiculous.”

Renji let out a little chuckle. “Yeah, well, the head captain is more like me than you, you know what I mean?”

She sneered. “A peasant.”

“I don’t know that for sure,” Renji said, “But, he’s been a warrior so long, that’s what he is at the core more than anything else.”

Masama seemed to be calming down as they spoke, her back regaining its prim posture. “So, you’ll accompany me? Shall we make our case to the Head Captain first? And, failing that, I ferret out who sits on this Central Forty-Six of yours. Certainly, I’ve planned a wedding for one of them or they owe Kuchiki something. After all, our influence runs deep and wide.”

Renji didn’t doubt that for a second and it kind of terrified him to think that she could turn all that back on him once Byakuya was freed. If she got in with Central? Shit, she’d be worse than Aizen, because it’d be all legit.

“Right, let me change into my dress uniform. I’ll get Nanako to contact Sasakibe and get you an audience.”

#

He stared at the haori Nanako brought for him. It wasn’t Byakuya’s usual one. This one was sleeveless and had golden tassels on a high collar. “I can’t wear that,” Renji protested. “Where’d you even find it?”

“The steward from the estate said the Captain had ordered this brought out of deep storage. I guess it's only just back from the tailors.”

“Well, then it for sure ain’t going to fit me,” Renji said. “Look at it, I’d rip the shoulders clean out. If it’s an heirloom, I can’t possibly. Anyway, it don’t feel right. I’m more comfortable with the lieutenant’s badge.”

“But you’re not the lieutenant,” Nanako protested, holding the haori up to Renji’s shoulders. She frowned as if hopeful it might still be workable, but it was clear it wouldn’t. Setting it down over the chair, she smoothed out the white silk. “You should have a captain’s haori for this meeting.”

“If I wore that it’d give Auntie M. apoplexy,” Renji said. “And she’d mark it down on her list of reasons I should hang.”

“She’s not serious about that, is she, sir?”

“Hell yeah she is,” Renji assured Nanako, his eyes still lingering on the haori. It was a curious thing with those golden tassels, it seemed like a thing from the deep past. Had he seen something like it somewhere before? He wondered, too, what had prompted Byakuya to make the change from his usual one.

When Renji realized that Nanako was still staring at him with a look of abject horror on her face, Renji finally wrestled his gaze from the haori and shrugged. “Look, you know how the captain is sometimes about class? She’s that, only five zillion times worse. I kind of think I offend her just by existing. I’m sure she don’t think Rukongai trash ought to ever hold commission, and sure as shit not as lieutenant of what she considers her family’s Division. Which is why that stays here,” he jerked his chin at the strange haunting haori. “And I go like this,” he tapped the lieutenant’s badge at his sleeve.

“Just promise me you’ll remember not to kneel,” Nanako said, adjusting Renji’s collar. She stuck a finger into his face and wagged it seriously. “You’re a captain. Captains stand in the presence of the Head Captain. A haori would help you remember, damn it. Don’t you dare go down on your knees. Promise!”

“I promise!” Renji said raising his hands to stop her scolding.

#

And yet Renji almost forgot. His knees kept wanting to buckle and head for the comfort of the floor.

It felt really unnatural to stand, especially with the Lady Kuchiki there looking somehow even finer and more rich in her silks. Had she added another layer? Done something more to her silver-white hair? Regardless, she was impressive as fuck. Even Yamamoto seemed a little uncertain what to make of this regal, elderly woman standing before him.

At least they met in the Head Captain’s private office. Sasakibe stood behind where the Head Captain sat at an empty, polished oak, Western-style desk. The room was still cavernous and forbidding. Several floor to ceiling windows looked out over the expanse of the Seireitei, Sokyoku hill rising above it all--a silent reminder, a quiet threat.

“You have some complaint for the Gotei, Lady Kuchiki?”

“I wish to request an… appeal of sorts,” she said. Renji had coached Masama a little about the terms and wording she might want to consider, but he’d agreed that his role would be mostly support. “My nephew, Captain Byakuya Kuchiki, is also our clan’s head. His ability to function as clan leader is severely hampered by his imprisonment. I would humbly request that you allow him to serve the remainder of his sentence under house arrest.” 

“He broke our laws,” Yamamoto grumped. “This is his punishment.”

“Yes, of course,” Masama said with a slight dip of her head that shocked Renji. Demure? Wow, she really was willing to do anything to get Byakuya out. “However, you must understand that you are punishing the whole of the Kuchiki clan over what is essentially a minor military matter. Perhaps just under a month seems like a short time for the clan to survive without its head, but surely you understand that this is a huge destabilization of power. The lieutenant informed me that there was already an assassination attempt.”

Yamamoto and Sasakibe glanced at Renji. He nodded, “It’s true, sir, as I believe Captain Soi Fon can confirm. Captain Kuchiki was attacked in his cell by armed men, dressed as guards.”

“As you can see, clan politics are already in play,” Masama said before Yamamoto could react. “Byakuya should have the benefit of his usual retinue of bodyguards. This is precisely why they exist.”

“Is Captain Kuchiki unharmed?” Sasakibe asked Renji.

“He’s… Er, that is, he was able to defeat his opponents, but he’s removed himself to solitary confinement for… uh, reasons.” Ah shit, that wasn’t very helpful. 

Renji had wanted to say something about the other assault, the sexual one, but he didn’t know if that was his story to tell. Yamamoto might not be sympathetic, either. Renji had no idea how the old man might react to the idea that even a captain of the Gotei might be vulnerable to that kind of attack. Some men were stupid about that stuff in particular, and Renji was determined not to make this about any weakness on Byakuya’s part. But, it was wrong to say Byakuya was ‘unharmed.’ Harm had been done. 

“Thing is, Captain Kuchiki has been attacked more than once,” Renji said, thinking that maybe if he left things vague, it would help establish a pattern. 

“Prison is a difficult place,” Yamamoto muttered. Glancing up at Renji, he said, “Acting-Captain Abarai, do you truly think that a nobleman should be treated any differently than any other member of the Gotei?”

Renji started, because of course he didn’t. As he continued to hesitate, Masama turned to watch him, clearly afraid of what he might say. 

Taking a steadying breath, Renji squared his shoulders and said, “No, sir, I don’t. However, it’s clear that, even if we wouldn’t, _prison_ treats nobles differently. Captain Kuchiki is being singled out for who and what he is, like it or not, sir.”

Masama allowed a small thin smile of approval at Renji, which made him kind of hate himself a little, even if what he said was true.

Yamamoto seemed to be surprised by Renji’s answer, but nodded. “Very well, a compromise. I accept your request for a transfer to house arrest, but, in exchange, Captain Kuchiki’s sentence is extended. Abarai stays Acting-Captain an extra week longer. Clearly, it suits him.”

#

“‘Suits him,’” Masama snarled under her breath once they were out in the massive courtyard of the First Division’s barracks. 

Renji had figured she wouldn’t be able to just enjoy their victory. She’d have to get stuck on that. “Look, Byakuya is coming home. Today. That’s the important thing, right?”

“What would truly _suit_ you would be strong rope.”

Renji rolled his shoulders, cracking his neck joints. “I’m sure you can find plenty of people who agree with you, lady. But until then, I’m going to just do my job: supporting my captain and keeping the Division running.”

“And sending monsters to my door.”

So there it was. The shoe. Finally dropping now that she’d gotten what she wanted from him. He considered denying he’d been the one to send Kurotsuchi her way, but, well, he might as well own up. “It’s not my fault if you stole something from the Twelfth Division that didn’t belong to you, ma’am.”

“That… painted creature invaded my home, terrified me, and forced me to give up the name of my lover… whose pickled organs I later received in the mail.”

Pickled…? Ugh. But, wait, _lover_? That was awfully casual for someone who was painting a sob story earlier today about her beloved, still living husband. But, then again, nobles really were a different breed. Byakuya never seemed to flinch much at the idea of his father having lovers while married. 

“It’s your fault he was murdered,” Masama said, “....probably tortured.”

“Is it?” Renji asked. “I don’t remember requesting an illegal Soul Record from anyone.”

“And yet your true nature reveals itself. You’re a beast, Renji Abarai, all the way down to your very soul.”

Zabimaru growled and hissed. Renji smiled toothily. “Damn straight, sister, and don’t you forget it.”

**Author's Note:**

> And, so I've made it fic canon that Masama is Kouga's wife. For those of you just tuning into this beastly soap opera, I long ago decided that Byakuya's father must have a sister since, in the Zanpakuto Rebellion filler arc, we see Ginrei going to inform a woman (actually we see her kimono) about Kouga's betrayal. Kouga refers to Ginrei as father-in-law. So, it stands to reason that Byakuya _does_ have an aunt (in so much as filler arcs can be counted as canon). I made her an elder aunt because Kouga is wearing the kenseikan, and it seems as though he is in line to be the heir/clan head. Now all of that is in here (though I suppose this means I need to do the zanpakuto arc at some point....? I dunno if that will happen.)
> 
> At any rate, thanks must go to Josey (cestus) as usual and, of course, to all of you who keep on keepin' on with me! THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!


End file.
